women and moneyhttp://www.wisebread.com/taxonomy/term/12653/all
en-US8 Personal Finance Lessons Women Learn in Their 20shttp://www.wisebread.com/8-personal-finance-lessons-women-learn-in-their-20s
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<p>Being in your 20s is amazing. It's filled with change; most women enter the decade as college students without any idea of what to do with their lives, only to end their 20s much more settled &mdash; oftentimes married, sometimes with kids, and frequently well into a career. Here are the eight financial lessons women in their 20s learn.</p>
<h2>1. Love Has an Enormous Impact on Your Money</h2>
<p>I entered my 20s dating the person I thought I would marry. I first moved across the country for them, and eventually to the other side of the world to Russia for that person. But by time I was 21, I was dating someone new. This time, it <em>was</em> the person I did marry. But going into a relationship you never really know where it is headed, and you don't know the impact it will have on your wallet. The reality is that love will impact your financial situation tremendously. It's not just about who pays for dates, but whether you share the same financial values, what type of job the other person has, whether you move or switch careers for that person. So choose your significant other wisely.</p>
<h2>2. Take Big Risks With Your Job</h2>
<p>Your 20s are the best time to grow in your career. In fact, a brand new study has revealed that most of your <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/10/your-lifetime-earnings-are-probably-determined-in-your-twenties/">earning potential</a> is determined in your 20s. So, it's best to find work that is meaningful and enjoyable, but that will also earn you a decent living. Now is the time to move across the country, try something totally new, go to law school or get an MBA, or quit a stable corporate job to start a business or work for a start up. What you do with your career this decade, will impact your finances for the rest of your life.</p>
<h2>3. Plan for the Future: Settling Down Happens Quickly</h2>
<p>Ask any 30-year-old woman what has happened to her Facebook feed in the last two years. She'll tell you it has gone from friends posting wedding and travel photos to a feed filled with her friends' baby photos. You start your first job at 22 thinking your 30-year-old coworkers are so old because they don't go out to happy hours and instead head home to be with their familes. Before you know it, you are 30, and you're the one going home to your kids and spouse, instead of out for drinks. So, use your 20s to save for this settling down that will likely happen by the time you're 30. Start saving for your wedding, for your house, and for your future children.</p>
<h2>4. Spend Enough to Enjoy the Present</h2>
<p>While you should save in your 20s, don't save so much for the future that you fail to enjoy the present. If you want to quit your job to travel the world, do it. It's going to be 1000 times harder to do when you're 34 than when you're 24. Plus, society is far less accepting of a 30 or 40-something year-old woman who quits her job to travel (unless you've experienced a traumatic divorce and are soul searching, a la Eat Pray Love). So spend on the big things, but also on the small. Go out for drinks with friends, to concerts, and sporting events, because you'll never be more able to than you are when you're an unsettled twenty-something.</p>
<h2>5. Find a Job With Good Maternity Leave</h2>
<p>Setting down happens quickly, and often when you're not even looking. You likely won't be thinking about your job's maternity leave when you say &quot;yes&quot; to your first or second or third job offer of your 20s. But you should. Chances are that you'll stay at that place of employment longer than you plan, and you'll want to be covered if you become pregnant. Choose a company with a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wisebread.com/the-29-companies-with-the-best-maternity-benefits">good maternity leave policy</a>.</p>
<h2>6. Women Still Earn Less Than Men</h2>
<p>My mom likes to tell me about how when she was my age, women lawyers could wear nothing but skirt suits and pantyhose. Pant suits were simply unacceptable. At a dinner interview where spouses were invited, people assumed it was my dad interviewing, not my mom. Granted, things have changed for women since 1984; but not as much as we'd like. Women only account for 20% of corporate board seats, 20% of US Senate and House seats, and about 33% of doctors and lawyers. And women still earn about 78 cents for every dollar a man earns.</p>
<h2>7. It's Good to Live Somewhere Cheap and to Live Frugally</h2>
<p>Every woman in her 20s should live somewhere that is far less expensive than she can afford, and spend far less money than she reasonably could. Why? Because someday later on, when you are worried about the job market or what would happen if you got a divorce, you'll have confidence that you can get by on a lot less. It's much easier to gain this confidence at 25 than 45.</p>
<h2>8. No Matter How Much You Learn About Personal Finance in Your 20s, You Don't Know It All</h2>
<p>Most women learn an enormous amount about money in their 20s. We earn our first paychecks, start our 401(k)s, pay medical bills, taxes, mortgages, and more. There is a lot to learn and we mostly learn it out of necessity. But, by the time you reach your 30s, you realize that <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/7-personal-finance-lessons-women-learn-in-their-30s">there is still more to learn</a>. Thankfully, by this point, even if your finances are in rough shape, you have confidence that you can learn more and have the resources for doing so.</p>
<p><em>What financial lessons have you or did you learn in your 20s?</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/elizabeth-lang">Elizabeth Lang</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/8-personal-finance-lessons-women-learn-in-their-20s">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-1">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Personal Financeage and moneyfinancial educationmoney lessonswomen and moneyMon, 02 Mar 2015 14:00:08 +0000Elizabeth Lang1314827 at http://www.wisebread.com5 Financial Obstacles That Are Especially Tough for Womenhttp://www.wisebread.com/5-financial-obstacles-that-are-especially-tough-for-women
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<p>I love being a woman.</p>
<p>I love how far we've come, all the opportunities we're seeing now, and all the potential in our future. Plus, I love the shoes&hellip; women have a fantastically broad selection of shoes to work with.</p>
<p>But when it comes to money, we still seem to struggle.</p>
<p>Studies show that of the 62 million of us currently in the workforce, only 45% have a plan for retirement. Even more interesting is the mindset behind that statistic. In a 2013 study by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, over half the baby boomer women surveyed said they didn't plan to retire at all, and would continue working after age 65. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/why-one-third-of-americans-havent-saved-for-retirement?ref=seealso">Why One-Third of Americans Haven't Saved Enough for Retirement</a>)</p>
<p>And for many women, working past retirement is their only option.</p>
<p>But why is that? Why do intelligent, savvy women have such a hard time protecting themselves financially? The answer isn't always a simple one, but may well have to do with a number of factors,</p>
<h2>1. Women Earn Less</h2>
<p>Despite all the political movements, women still earn on average, one-third less than men. This is partially due to the long-standing wage disparities between men and women, and partially due to our own priorities. Women are <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/12/11/on-pay-gap-millennial-women-near-parity-for-now/sdt-gender-and-work-12-2013-1-05/">more likely to take part-time jobs</a> or less-demanding (and therefore less profitable) positions to give them more flexibility at home.</p>
<p>Women are also more likely to take off for maternity leave or to care for an elderly parent, decreasing the amount of time they're in the workforce and actively contributing to a retirement plan. This same family-first mentality also makes it harder to compete for those higher-paid positions, so we have less opportunity to increase our income.</p>
<h2>2. Women Are More Financially Conservative</h2>
<p>While we might be more open to new experiences than men in other aspects of our lives, we have a tendency to play it safe when it comes to taking financial risk. <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/031313/women-and-investing-its-style-thing.asp">Men play the stock market; we like bonds and mutual funds</a>. And that means we're seeing fewer rewards for our efforts.</p>
<p>Maybe we're just wired that way or maybe it's because we're working with less and don't feel we have the luxury of playing &quot;fast and loose&quot; with our retirement. But whatever the reason, the end result is the same&hellip; we're seeing smaller returns on our investments.</p>
<h2>3. We Save Less</h2>
<p>According to a<a href="http://aon.mediaroom.com/2013-08-14-Aon-Hewitt-Report-Shows-Women-Lag-Behind-Men-in-Saving-for-Retirement"> 2013 Aon Hewitt study</a>, <a href="http://aon.mediaroom.com/2013-08-14-Aon-Hewitt-Report-Shows-Women-Lag-Behind-Men-in-Saving-for-Retirement">women contribute less of their salary to retirement</a> than men do, 6.9% to 7.5% respectively. That means that even when we do invest, we're doing it in smaller increments, further reducing our potential for financial growth.</p>
<p>In addition, because we're more likely to take those part-time positions, we're also more likely to be working without receiving any type of employer-sponsored retirement benefits, and that means more women are on their own when it comes to saving for retirement.</p>
<h2>4. Women Live Longer</h2>
<p>According to the Social Security Administration, a woman turning 65 today can expect to live just past her 86 birthday. And, the CDC says, that lifespan is going to continue to grow. Men, on the other hand, don't live quite as long &mdash; on average, about 7 years less &mdash; meaning that not only do women often have fewer financial resources to work with, but we also have to rely on them for a longer period of time.</p>
<h2>5. It Isn't a Priority</h2>
<p>For the most part, we've evolved beyond the &quot;my husband handles the finances&quot; mentality, but does that mean that savvy financial planning is always priority number one? Yes, we know the value of saving, and yes, we're concerned about retirement, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/12/05/study-women-multitask-more-than-men/">but those concerns are often lumped in with the gazillion other things we're busy managing</a>. And quite often, those gazillion other things take precedence. So, while we might have plans to learn more about investing or take a closer look at our 401(k) plan, we just haven't gotten around to it. But we will&hellip; really&hellip; right after we get through the holidays, finish with soccer season, bake these 40 cupcakes, help with the math homework&hellip;</p>
<p>So tomorrow&hellip; Definitely, maybe tomorrow.</p>
<h2>How to Make a Change</h2>
<p>Okay, so now that we've painted this dismal picture, what can we do to change it?</p>
<h3>Get Healthy Now</h3>
<p>Since it's pretty clear that you'll need your money for a longer period of time, take actions now to improve your health and minimize the potential for illness down the road. Granted, sometimes things just &quot;happen,&quot; but there are things you can do to lessen your chances of becoming sick or disabled. Eat better, start a doctor-approved exercise program and do what you can to keep your mind active and alert. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/dont-let-poor-health-kill-your-retirement-fund">Don't Let Poor Health Kill Your Retirement Fund</a>)</p>
<p>Remember, basic necessities like rent and groceries aren't the only things you'll need to pay for in your golden years; health care expenses are more likely to increase during this time, so doing what you can now to maintain good health later is just smart.</p>
<h3>Save, Save, Save</h3>
<p>While you can't really give up maternity leave or your role as caregiver (nor should you have to), you can ensure that your savings don't suffer while you're out of the workforce. Opening an IRA is an easy way to continue contributing to your retirement, even if your career is on pause. Granted, that's still a challenge if you're working with less, which brings us to tip #3.</p>
<h3>Learn to Negotiate</h3>
<p>If your employer doesn't offer you a retirement benefit package, ask. If you think you're being paid less than you should be, start talking about a raise or promotion. Although we've gotten much better at it, women still have a tendency to &quot;take what they can get&quot; instead of negotiating for a better deal.</p>
<p>So, how can you become a better negotiator?</p>
<p>One of the easiest ways to improve your negotiating skills is to take time to learn what the other side really wants. According to Joyce Russell, President of Adecco Staffing U.S. and negotiations expert, Dr. Victoria Medvec, it's easy to leave money on the table (or fail to reach an agreement altogether) when we don't understand our opponent's objectives.</p>
<p>Dr. Medvec suggests using a technique called <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/gaygaddis/2013/09/16/the-top-negotiation-trap-that-can-cost-your-business/">Multiple Equivalent Simultaneous Offers (MESO)</a> &mdash; essentially, creating three different, yet equally satisfactory offers &mdash; to gain insight about what's most important to the other side. This technique exhibits your flexibility and opens the door to more productive conversations.</p>
<p>But perhaps even more importantly, women need to learn to ask. <a href="http://lenski.com/top-5-negotiation-traps-for-women/">Failing to see the opportunity for negotiation is one of the biggest traps women face</a>, according to conflict resolution expert, Tammy Lenski. Simply learning to assume that everything is negotiable gives you new perspective on your situation and flexibility in deciding how you want to improve your circumstances.</p>
<h3>Know Your Finances</h3>
<p>You also need to get very clear about how much money you'll actually need to retire and then find a realistic plan to help you reach that number. The idea that you'll just work past retirement to boost your savings is a nice idea, but what if you can't? What if something happens that forces you to retire before you're ready?</p>
<p>Increasing the amount you save now is the only real way to counter that possibility, so up your contributions if you can and plan to sock away any windfalls that might cross your path in the future.</p>
<h3>Increase Your Investing Confidence</h3>
<p>And lastly, do what you can to become comfortable with a little more risk in your investments. For example, experts at Fidelity Investments cite <a href="https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/investing-tips-for-women">diversification and education as good strategies to help you overcome the fear of risk</a>. Also remember, it doesn't have to be &quot;a lot&quot; of risk&hellip; just enough to balance things out. The same studies that showed we're more conservative in our investing strategy also revealed that an &quot;all-risk&quot; portfolio isn't the way to go, either.</p>
<p>In fact, from a long-term perspective, <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0812/are-womens-portfolios-better-than-mens.aspx">women's portfolios tend to outperform men's investments</a> because our conservative nature allows us to hold the investment longer. Men on the other hand, tend to panic and dump the stock. This buy-and-hold mentality can pay off big if you learn to balance your &quot;safe&quot; investments with a few that offer a slightly larger payoff. You'll become more confident about investing in the process, and your portfolio will thank you for it.</p>
<p><em>How are you preparing for retirement? Please share in comments!</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/kate-luther">Kate Luther</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-financial-obstacles-that-are-especially-tough-for-women">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-2">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Personal Financegender and moneyinvestingretirementsavingwomen and moneyTue, 11 Nov 2014 14:00:05 +0000Kate Luther1253610 at http://www.wisebread.comWhy Women Need Life Insurance — and What to Do About Ithttp://www.wisebread.com/why-women-need-life-insurance-and-what-to-do-about-it
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<p>There are certain things that I always assumed I&rsquo;d automatically have control of once I became an adult. Like knowing how to apply liquid eyeliner without a shaking hand. Or getting my car washed regularly. &nbsp;Or buying life insurance.</p>
<p>But even though I am firmly in adulthood, it regularly takes me three or four tries to apply good-looking eyeliner, my car is currently covered in a layer of grime, and, well&hellip;I do not have life insurance.</p>
<p>Recent research has shown that, even though women make up 49% of the workforce, they&rsquo;re also consistently under-covered when it comes to life insurance &mdash; only 43% of working women have it, and their average policy only covers about $129,800, according to <a href="http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/why-women-need-life-insurance.html">this article from Yahoo!</a></p>
<p>That figure might seem like a lot (I know I&rsquo;d be stoked to have an extra $129k), but when you discover that the recommended coverage is 7 to 10 times the amount of your annual salary, that figure starts to seem pretty small. To get a better idea of how much coverage you need, check out this <a href="https://pro.genworth.com/riiproweb/productinfo/pdf/113025CK.pdf">worksheet guide</a>:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pro.genworth.com/riiproweb/productinfo/pdf/113025CK.pdf"><img width="300" height="250" alt="Genworth Coverage" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u921/life_insurance_coverage.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>But telling you that having life insurance is a good idea doesn&rsquo;t really explain <i>why</i> you need it, does it? The Yahoo! article also discusses three great reasons to get covered.</p>
<h3>It Replaces Your Income to Help Your Family in a Time of Need</h3>
<p>This is the most obvious reason to get life insurance &mdash; if your income helps support you, your children, and your partner, having a policy ensures that, if anything ever happens to you, they continue to receive that financial support. Not only does this help with the day-to-day aspects of your family budget, but this money can also help cover funeral expenses and associated costs. And, as this article on <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tragedy-strikes-financially-prepared-130024343.html">being financially prepared if tragedy strikes</a> explains &mdash; you don&rsquo;t want your family worrying about how they&rsquo;re going to pay for these things when they&rsquo;re already going through a difficult loss.</p>
<h3>It Can Help Cover Work You Do as a Stay-at-Home Mom</h3>
<p>Life insurance does more than just cover your income &mdash; it can provide a financial safety net for the work you do as well. If you&rsquo;re a stay-at-home mom, you know that what you do is just as important to your family&rsquo;s welfare as working outside of the home (and, often, with longer hours and more taxing tasks &mdash; carrying around a tantruming two-year-old isn&rsquo;t easy!).</p>
<p>You might think that because you don&rsquo;t pull a salary, though, that you don&rsquo;t need life insurance coverage. While none of us like thinking about the worst-case scenario, if something did happen to you, having life insurance would provide your partner financial support during a difficult time &mdash; support that he or she could use to do things like hire childcare or take time off work.</p>
<h3>Even If You&rsquo;re Single, It Can Help Protect People You Care About</h3>
<p>There are two categories of single women who should consider life insurance &mdash; those who are caring for their aging parents (or another dependent, like a sibling), and people with a high debt load &mdash; especially if that loan is co-signed. Normally, when you die, the executor of your estate will sell off whatever he or she can to help pay for your debt, and the rest is forgiven. But if you have co-signer on that loan, all of that debt load is transferred to the co-signer.</p>
<p>If neither of these cases applies to you, however, you&rsquo;re likely fine to put off purchasing a policy (and putting that money towards something like an emergency fund or retirement account instead). That said, it is also often less expensive to buy a policy when you&rsquo;re younger than when you&rsquo;re older.</p>
<h3>What You Can Do</h3>
<p>The first step, as with any major purchase, is to do your research. Check out our article on <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-and-why-to-buy-life-insurance">how and why to buy life insurance</a>, which provides an overview of the different types of life insurance.</p>
<p>Before you a make a purchase, though, talk to your HR department. You might already have life insurance coverage &mdash; some employers offer a certain amount of coverage for free, automatically, with the option to purchase more.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re not covered at work, search online for a policy, or ask a friend or family member if they have an insurance agent they trust who can answer any questions you may have.</p>
<p><i>Do you have life insurance? Why or why not?</i></p>
<p>
<div><em>This article was made possible by the support and inspiration from Genworth Financial, a S&amp;P 500 insurance company with more than $100 billion in assets. Check out Genworth's website for more information about <a href="https://www.genworth.com/products/life-insurance/what-is-life-insurance/types-of-life-insurance.html">how to buy life insurance</a>.</em></div>
</p><br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/meg-favreau">Meg Favreau</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/why-women-need-life-insurance-and-what-to-do-about-it">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-2">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-life-insurance">How Long Does It Take to Get Life Insurance?</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/when-should-single-people-get-life-insurance">When Should Single People Get Life Insurance?</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>Insurancelife insurancewomen and moneyWed, 24 Apr 2013 10:36:34 +0000Meg Favreau973664 at http://www.wisebread.comWomen and Savings: What to Do at Your Life Stagehttp://www.wisebread.com/women-and-savings-what-to-do-at-your-life-stage
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<p>The recession has pushed almost all of us, regardless of age, a decade behind in building personal wealth. Don&rsquo;t beat yourself up if you&rsquo;re in your 20s and haven&rsquo;t paid off student loans, or in your late 30s or early 40s and still paying off debt or saving up for a down payment. If your retirement account isn&rsquo;t where you&rsquo;d like it to be in your 50s, do the best you can to build it up. What matters is doing the best you can to make sound financial decisions so you can enjoy the important things in life without worrying too much about money. Here are few tips for women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s on saving and building wealth. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/37-savings-changes-you-can-make-today">37&nbsp;Savings Changes You&nbsp;Can Make Today</a>)</p>
<h2>In&nbsp;Your 20s</h2>
<p>I can&rsquo;t stress this enough &mdash; start saving early. Even if you think you&rsquo;re broke, give up lattes twice a week and put the $25 a month you save into a retirement account. The hilarious truth of the matter is that the earlier you start saving, when you can least afford it, the harder that money works for you to earn interest. Investing just 5% of a $40,000 salary annually from age 25-65 can pay off big in the long run. Assuming a 6% rate of return, at age 65 you&rsquo;d have $479,241 in your 401(k) thanks to the magic of compound interest. Invest 10% of a $40,000 salary, and that number grows to $830,678 by age 65.</p>
<p>On to credit card debt, especially important in your 20s. I know about this one first hand. I thought I had a great handle on my credit card spending in my early 20s. So great, in fact, that over the next several years I didn&rsquo;t bat an eyelash at charging multiple plane tickets to Europe, rounds of drinks with friends, and several pairs of new shoes.</p>
<p>Several years later, I was still paying it off. &nbsp;The only way I dug myself out of debt was to get a second job in addition to my full time job while I was finishing school. That meant a 60-plus hour work week, no social life, no excess spending, little sleep, and a lot of headaches for over a year. Trust me, you do NOT want to put yourself through the stress that excess debt causes. Before you whip out the credit card to travel or go out or buy a new gadget, ask yourself if you really need it. Force yourself to spend responsibly. If you want to travel, set aside 10% of your earnings and take one great trip a year.</p>
<h2>In&nbsp;Your 30s</h2>
<p>In your 30s, the traditional wisdom says you should be buying a house, saving up for a family, and finally paying off your student loans and credit card debts. Realistically, with the low pulse of the housing and job markets, many people are delaying purchasing property or starting a family. So if you&rsquo;re still working on paying down debt and building up savings, that&rsquo;s okay. Don&rsquo;t beat yourself up; just continue to save.</p>
<p>Still, your 30s do represent a transition into being a &ldquo;real&rdquo; adult, and along with that comes responsibility, like it or not. Aim on building a savings account with three to six months&rsquo; worth of living expenses. Try to finish paying off high interest debt, like credit cards and car loans. If you do decide to buy property, add up all the costs of ownership before making a commitment.</p>
<h2>In Your 40s</h2>
<p>Most women in their 40s seem to have a good handle on the concept that managing your money well leads to more freedom down the road. At this point, most women are probably mid-career and earning more than they did in previous decades. Whether you&rsquo;re a single-income or dual-income household, use the peak earning years to your advantage. <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-debt-snowball-method-0">Pay down all the debt</a> you can, ramp up retirement contributions and review your savings goals on a regular basis. Remember, not all workers are lucky enough to have a company pension plan, and who knows what the future holds for social security. Once your emergency fund is built, use extra cash to build up retirement savings.</p>
<h2>In Your 50s and Beyond</h2>
<p>Women live longer than men, over five years on average, which means we should be saving more for retirement, not less. A <a href="https://www.wellsfargo.com/press/2011/20110202_Retirement">Wells Fargo survey</a> on women and retirement found that 30% of women aged 40 to 69 &ldquo;weren&rsquo;t sure&rdquo; or &ldquo;couldn&rsquo;t estimate&rdquo; how much they&rsquo;d need in retirement. Well, let&rsquo;s knock that excuse out first. Here&rsquo;s a great calculator from <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/retirement-plan-income-calculator.aspx"> Bankrate</a> to estimate how much income your retirement savings will generate.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re in your 50s and 60s and your retirement income isn&rsquo;t what it should be, you&rsquo;ll need to ramp up saving to meet your estimated expenses. Make sure you don&rsquo;t make risky or aggressive investments during this time period, as the goal is to safely build wealth for upcoming retirement.</p>
<p>Some people might want to have a part-time job during &ldquo;retirement,&rdquo; so take that into consideration as well. If you do decide to exit the work force, <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/deciding-what-you-want-out-of-retirement">consider what expenses you&rsquo;ll have in retirement</a>. Will you have a mortgage or car payment? Do you plan on traveling? What about healthcare costs? Keeping a handle on how much you&rsquo;ll need to live on can prevent unpleasant surprises down the road.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>This post is a part of Women's Money Week 2012. For more posts about saving, see <a href="http://womensmoneyweek.com">womensmoneyweek.com</a>. </em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/erin-c-oneil">Erin C. O&#039;Neil</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/women-and-savings-what-to-do-at-your-life-stage">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-1">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-financial-obstacles-that-are-especially-tough-for-women">5 Financial Obstacles That Are Especially Tough for Women</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/do-you-really-want-to-be-rich">Do You Really Want to Be Rich?</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/the-quiet-millionaire-part-2-major-obstacles-to-financial-success">The Quiet Millionaire: Part 2 – Major Obstacles to Financial Success</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/7-reasons-you-really-need-to-pay-yourself-first-seriously">7 Reasons You Really Need to Pay Yourself First (Seriously)</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>Personal Financewealth accumulationwomen and moneywomen and retirementFri, 09 Mar 2012 11:24:17 +0000Erin C. O'Neil909814 at http://www.wisebread.comStupid Reasons Why People Make More Moneyhttp://www.wisebread.com/stupid-reasons-why-people-make-more-money
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<p>Life just isn&rsquo;t fair. That&rsquo;s not just my opinion; you just have to look around you to see who&rsquo;s doing well and who isn&rsquo;t. Sometimes you scratch your head and wonder &ldquo;how is that guy running this place?&rdquo; or &ldquo;why isn&rsquo;t she in charge of this project, she&rsquo;s awesome?&rdquo;</p>
<p>The fact is, it&rsquo;s not just our education and work experience that defines our ability to make money. There are lots of other factors at play, some of which we have absolutely no control over. Now, I have avoided stupid WAYS people make money; that list would be too long (Pet Rock, frivolous law suits, inheriting it). This is more about the reasons why people around you, at work, are on a bigger salary. Some of these might surprise you, others may make you really angry. All I can say is, don&rsquo;t shoot the messenger. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-ways-everyone-can-make-more-money">5 Ways Everyone Can Make More Money</a>)</p>
<h3>1. Being Mean, Less Agreeable or Just Plain Rude</h3>
<p>This one hit the headlines recently, and it blew me away. A <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904823804576502763895892974.html">new study</a> has revealed that men who measure below average on &ldquo;agreeableness&rdquo; earn roughly 18% more ($9,772 more annually based on the sample) than guys who are considered &ldquo;nice.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The study also found that mean women earn more than their nicer counterparts as well, although not to the same degree. It equates to 5% more per year, or $1,828.</p>
<p>So, why the extra cash for the bad temper?</p>
<p>For men, it&rsquo;s actually considered more masculine to be a bad guy. In other words, the nicer you are, the less &ldquo;manly&rdquo; and therefore not as fitting to the expectations of your role. Men should be aggressive go-getters, the hunters who bring home the bacon. It also implies that men who are mean are better at negotiations, especially concerning salary.</p>
<p>On the other hand, women who show the same conduct are stepping out of their traditional or expected behavior models, and that is reflected in the lower figures. Mean women are considered bossy, bitchy, over-compensating for something, and all of those other rotten stereotypes. But meaner women still earn more, which could again be explained by abilities to negotiate and push for promotions and more money.</p>
<p>This really does prove that nice guys, and girls, finish last. But hey, at least they have friends and a conscience.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img width="605" height="454" alt="" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u921/mean.jpg" /> &nbsp;</p>
<h3>2. Being Blessed With Good Looks</h3>
<p>No surprises here. For as long as I can remember, beautiful people have been treated way better by our society. Scientists say that the main reason is genetics. We are driven to want to reproduce with people who we believe will give us healthy children, and beauty is directly associated with health. Real beauty is also rare, and we covet it. And beauty is also related to trust, which makes absolutely no sense to me. Perhaps the old fairy stories of wicked witches and beautiful princesses, coupled with ugly trolls and handsome princes, has something to do with that complete pile of hogwash.</p>
<p>But all of that&rsquo;s neither here not there when it comes to actual job performance, intelligence, or skill. What&rsquo;s on the outside is no reflection of what&rsquo;s going on inside, and to hire people based on looks (unless it&rsquo;s modeling or something else that demands it) is plain silly.</p>
<p>What&rsquo;s even sillier, though, is giving these same beautiful people more money, more promotions, and more opportunities. And yet it happens, year after year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/1148294866001/0/Author-Says-Beautiful-People-Make-More-Money">Author Daniel Hamermesh</a> from Yale University has been researching the issue. His study &ldquo;Beauty in the Labor Market&rdquo; concludes that beautiful people will make $230,000 more in their lifetimes than average-looking people.</p>
<p>Daniel found that attractive men earn 9% more than unattractive men, and attractive women earn 4% more than unattractive women. And all because they were fortunate to be born with genes that make them appear more pleasing to people in our society.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;m under 6 ft, I&rsquo;m bald, and I&rsquo;m a bit overweight. Someone with my skill set, but the rugged good looks and physique of Superman, is going to be a far more attractive prospect in every sense of the word, and that equates to more money. Is that fair? Nope. But life isn&rsquo;t fair.</p>
<p>Read more about the subject from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/08/15/beauty-pays-is-out-bring-your-questions-for-dan-hamermesh/">Freakonomics</a> or <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/ways-your-appearance-affects-your-paycheck-535945.html?tickers=^dji,^gspc,spy,dia">Yahoo! Finance</a>.<a href="http://www.adinnerguest.com/tricks-of-the-mind/do-beautiful-people-really-earn-more-money/"><br />
</a></p>
<h3>3. Being Part of the Family</h3>
<p>Ahh, nepotism. It exists in almost every place I&rsquo;ve ever worked, and it can&rsquo;t be escaped. It&rsquo;s just natural human behavior to want to give more to people who you care about. It&rsquo;s also the reason so many people in the entertainment, political, and corporate worlds rise to the top. How many famous actors would be around if their mom or dad hadn&rsquo;t been in the business? How many musicians would not have been given that big break? How many CEOs owe their current status to family members with power? And how many politicians got their position through family ties? It&rsquo;s amazing to think that in a country that&rsquo;s home to over 307 million people, we ended up with Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. in the White House.</p>
<p>Even if your family can&rsquo;t give you a great job, they can often give you a way in. The 80s movie <em>The Secret of My Success</em> tells the story of a young guy who gets a job in the mailroom and ends up becoming the president. Sure, it&rsquo;s fiction, but when no one&rsquo;s hiring, having that all-important &ldquo;in&rdquo; is essential.</p>
<p>Is nepotism legal? Yep. There&rsquo;s nothing to say you can&rsquo;t <a href="http://thegrindstone.com/strategy/is-hiring-a-family-member-worth-the-risk-and-judgement/">hire family members</a>. Giving those family members preferential treatment is illegal. But there has to be substantial evidence that the CEO's son did not deserve the pay raise and promotion he got, and that&rsquo;s a battle most people don&rsquo;t want to fight.</p>
<h3>4. Talking a Lot and Saying Nothing</h3>
<p>I hate this one, because I&rsquo;m not good at it. I wish I was. It&rsquo;s a skill that can be used to climb the ladders in corporations, where sticking your neck out is often punished, but being seen to be making a contribution, however pointless, is rewarded.</p>
<p>If you work in a corporate environment, you can easily pick these people out. For a start, they walk with the kind of confident strut that makes you think they&rsquo;re invincible. They&rsquo;re often seen laughing and chatting in the corridors of power, spending inordinate amounts of time with the important people in the company. And in meetings, they have something to say about everything, but they have absolutely no point of view.</p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s a prime example. You&rsquo;re in a meeting and a business proposal has just been presented. There&rsquo;s quiet. Dead quiet. That&rsquo;s because everyone is waiting for the person with real power to give his or her opinion, and that gives everyone else their cue to either jump on board, or reject it.</p>
<p>The CEO looks at Brad, our strutting office weasel, and asks for his opinion. That&rsquo;s when he says, &ldquo;Yeah, interesting proposal. I&rsquo;d definitely like to take the time to explore it further. There&rsquo;s a lot to think about, some avenues I&rsquo;ve been pondering myself, and all in all I think it deserves some debate.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The CEO says, &ldquo;I hated it!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Brad says, &ldquo;Absolutely, as I was saying, interesting, but for all the wrong reasons. We need to explore why he went down this path, I&rsquo;ve been thinking about this and need to talk to you later about shutting some of these avenues down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Or the CEO says, &ldquo;I loved it!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Brad says, &ldquo;Oh yeah, me too. Some really interesting ideas in there, a few of them I&rsquo;ve already been contemplating myself and I&rsquo;d like to talk to you more about these ideas later.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Brad (and you know what your own version of Brad is called), can talk in circles for days and never really say anything. But in corporate America, being seen to say a lot is great for your career, as long as you don&rsquo;t actually commit to anything. It will get you raises, promotions, and a shiny bonus. Meanwhile, the guy who just got fired because one of his last five ideas didn&rsquo;t work out, well, he&rsquo;s kicking himself that he didn&rsquo;t keep his mouth shut. As one beautiful demotivational poster once said, &ldquo;the tallest blade of grass gets cut first.&rdquo;</p>
<h3>5. Being a Man</h3>
<p>Sadly, having that XY chromosome is all you need in modern society to make more money. We&rsquo;re in the year 2011, and yet men are still earning more than their female counterparts in almost every field. It equates to around 77 cents for each dollar earned by a man. That&rsquo;s clearly unacceptable, but it&rsquo;s unlikely to change by any big degree over the next decade, if past performance is anything to go by. This is from an <a href="http://www.nwlc.org/our-blog/wage-gap-women-still-make-less-men">article published earlier this month</a> by the National Women&rsquo;s Law Center:</p>
<blockquote><p>Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show that, on average, a female worker still makes only 77 cents for each dollar earned by a comparable male worker. Indeed, we've seen virtually no progress in closing the gap in the last three years, and the gap has remained stagnant over the last decade. The numbers indicate an even more distressing reality for many American women when race is taken into account: Compared to each dollar earned by the average white male, a white woman makes 77.6 cents, a black woman makes 62.3 cents, and a Hispanic woman makes 54 cents.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why are we still seeing such a gap? Clearly, it&rsquo;s still a man&rsquo;s world. Actually, it&rsquo;s still a white man&rsquo;s world if you look at the bigger picture. And a few HR people I talked to explained that women will always have to struggle because they&rsquo;re the ones who are prone to take more time off for health issues and family. Maybe one day, it will all even out. I know I work with many women who are absolutely fantastic at the jobs they do, and to think they <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/why-women-dont-negotiate">aren&rsquo;t getting paid as much as the men</a> who they&rsquo;re equal to, well, that&rsquo;s just not acceptable.</p>
<p><img width="605" height="404" alt="" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u921/walking_man.jpg" /></p>
<h3>6. Sucking Up</h3>
<p>I&rsquo;ve saved the worst for last. It seems implausible that managers and higher-ups would fall for the butt-kissing routines as often as they do, but I&rsquo;ve seen it in every company I&rsquo;ve ever worked for. Sometimes it&rsquo;s subtle, like complimenting hair, clothes, or shoes, or laughing at a flat joke. Sometimes it&rsquo;s a little more obvious, like asking a few questions in presentations that are clearly designed to flatter the presenter.</p>
<p>And then, there&rsquo;s the creepy, blatant, all-out sucking up. The kind of smooching that makes everyone else physically sick. But it works. These sycophants have made a career out of it, and they&rsquo;re climbing the ladder by brown-nosing. It&rsquo;s so dumb, because it has absolutely nothing at all to do with performance or ability. But human beings, most of them anyway, like to surround themselves with things that make them feel good. These &ldquo;things&rdquo; just so happen to be people who are leap-frogging over you and get paid for it.</p>
<p>Well, that&rsquo;s my big list of stupid reasons. What dumb reasons have you encountered that ensure people get more cash in their paychecks?</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/paul-michael">Paul Michael</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/stupid-reasons-why-people-make-more-money">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-2">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Career and Incomecorporate culturehow to make more moneywomen and moneyMon, 26 Sep 2011 10:24:38 +0000Paul Michael713708 at http://www.wisebread.comGirly Fun on a Budgethttp://www.wisebread.com/girly-fun-on-a-budget
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<p>I don&rsquo;t consider myself much of a girly-girl, but there are days when I would give anything for a trip to a spa or some new boots. These days, though, the cash isn&rsquo;t flowing quite as fast as it used to, and I&rsquo;m finding new ways to get my girly fix so I can feel comfortable with myself as a woman but also save more. Here are some of the tricks I&rsquo;ve found. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/47-cheap-fun-things-to-do-this-weekend" title="47 Cheap, Fun Things to Do This Weekend">47 Cheap, Fun Things to Do This Weekend</a>)</p>
<h3>Shop Designer on a Discount</h3>
<p>If designer clothes make you feel like a woman, you can get them without spending a fortune. In fact, even if you have the money, it doesn&rsquo;t make sense to buy designer clothes at full price. After all, saving is saving, whether you have a million dollars or just a thousand.</p>
<p>While you will still pay more for designer clothes than you might pay for brands that aren&rsquo;t as well-known, you can achieve significant savings shopping online, as well as at sample sales. Try <a href="http://www.bluefly.com/">Bluefly</a>, <a href="http://www.gilt.com/">Gilt Group</a>, <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/">HauteLook</a>, or <a href="http://www.beyondtherack.com/">Beyond the Rack</a> to get you started.</p>
<h3>Focus on Accessories</h3>
<p>Every girl knows that some jewelry or a bag can make an outfit. If you&rsquo;re feeling tired of your clothes or think they're looking outdated, but you can&rsquo;t afford to replace them, try buying some accessories to spice things up. These can <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/wardrobe-makeover-for-moms" title="10 Steps to Update Your Look on a Budget">change your look</a> enough that most people will think you did manage to buy a whole new wardrobe.</p>
<p>Belts are big this season, and so are scarves. Both of these offer you the chance to dramatically change an outfit without spending too much money. Try a trendy store like <a href="http://www.hm.com">H&amp;M</a> or <a href="http://www.forever21.com/">Forever 21</a> to update your look without going broke.</p>
<h3>Plan a Spa Day . . . at Home</h3>
<p>Every girl likes a day at the spa, but a couple of hours there can easily cost what you&rsquo;ve spent all week earning. Instead of going out, get some friends and spend the day inside. You can do masks, peels, massages, body wraps, and more, all in the comfort of your own house and without spending too much.</p>
<p>Enhance your spa day by making a plan ahead of time. Follow some of the suggestions on the pages below, and you won&rsquo;t even wish you had the money to go to a real spa:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://spas.about.com/od/homesp1/a/homespaday.htm">Home Spa Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.spaindex.com/HomeSpa/HomeSpa.htm">Spa Index: Recipes and More!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sideroad.com/Beauty/create-home-spa.html">Create a Home Spa</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.countrygirlgardens.net/tips_spa.html">Tips for a Spa Day at Home</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Learn to Do Your Own Nails</h3>
<p>There&rsquo;s nothing that lifts the spirits (at least for some women) like a good mani-pedi. And while one trip to the salon won&rsquo;t break most budgets, weekly or every-other-week visits can add up after several months or a year. To save money, learn some basic mani-pedi skills that you can do on your own, or have someone else help you in exchange for your help on her nails.&nbsp;</p>
<p>You may still want to visit your salon every month or two, but you can easily get the skills you need to do normal upkeep on your nails by yourself. It takes a little effort, but you&rsquo;ll get your reward when you have money to spend on something else fun. &nbsp;To get started, check out these tips on how to do a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7C6X90Op0A">French Manicure at Home</a>.</p>
<p>Are you a girly-girl, or do you just need a girly fix every now and then? How do you get it without breaking the bank?</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/sarah-winfrey">Sarah Winfrey</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/girly-fun-on-a-budget">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-3">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Health and BeautyShoppingStylewomen and moneyMon, 25 Oct 2010 13:00:11 +0000Sarah Winfrey269555 at http://www.wisebread.com